BJP slams PM for rare appearances in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his "continued and persistent absence" from the Lok Sabha, alleging Dr Singh was not around when his presence was required and important issues were being discussed.

Soon after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna made a statement in the House on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to India on April 8, BJP member Jaswant Singh stood up to register his protest over the absence of the Prime Minister from the House.

Mr Singh, a former External Affairs Minister, maintained that the Prime Minister should have made a statement as the visit involved a Head of State. He said Dr Manmohan Singh should have shared with the House what exactly transpired during his deliberations with Mr Zardari.

"This statement pertains to a Head of State. Parliamentary propriety demands that the Prime Minister should have made this statement," he said.

Mr Singh, however, clarified that he was not questioning the competence of the External Affairs Minister.